My Legends of Pop Music – Part Fourteen – T.Rex
If I get this right, there will be many cover versions by future bands. I shall try and link live versions if they exist from the tellybox or a film, the sound quality may not be the best, but there is nothing like watching a real talent live.
So, in a sort of chronological order, my fourteenth legend is T.Rex. Due to his very early death in a car accident in 1977, the band did not do that many tunes, but being one of the first glam rock bands, then the deserve a place on my legends list.
Curtesy of Wiki:
T.Rex were an English rock band, formed in 1967 by singer-songwriter and guitarist Marc Bolan. The band was initially called Tyrannosaurus Rex, and released four albums under this name – three psychedelic folkand one mellow psychedelic rock. In 1969, while developing the style for the fourth album, Bolan began to change the band’s style towards electric rock, and shortened their name to T. Rex the following year. This development culminated in 1970 with the song “Ride a White Swan“, and the group soon became pioneers of the glam rock movement.
From 1970 to 1973, T. Rex encountered a popularity in the UK comparable to that of the Beatles, with a run of eleven singles in the UK top ten. They scored four UK number one hits, “Hot Love“, “Get It On“, “Telegram Sam” and “Metal Guru“. The band’s 1971 album Electric Warrior received critical acclaim as a pioneering glam rock album: it reached number 1 in the UK. The 1972 follow-up, The Slider, entered the top 20 in the US. Bolstering their style with soul music, funk and gospel, the band released Tanx in 1973 which reached the top 5 in several countries. From 1974, T. Rex’s appeal began to wane, though the band continued releasing one album per year. They blended rock with R&B influences, and occasionally incorporated disco elements in their music, on subsequent releases before returning to a stripped down sound.
In 1977, founder, songwriter and sole constant member Bolan died in a car crash several months after the release of the group’s final studio album Dandy in the Underworld, and the group disbanded. T. Rex have continued to influence a variety of subsequent artists. The band was inducted into the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame in 2020
A full list of his songs is here: Discography – T-Rex
Debora – Live TV performance from 1968. Reached the dizzy heights of No 34 in the UK charts, but we all must start somewhere. On re-release in 1972 it reached No 7.
Hot Love – Live in 1972 – good performance
Bang A Gong (Get It On) – Top of the pops 1971 – Yes, it is Reg on the piano. Marc and Elton were good friends and Elton often played with the band.
Jeepster – Live performance from the USA. Hamming it up a bit here.
Metal Guru – Top of the Pops, Christmas 1972. You know you have made it when you get a live spot on the Christmas edition.
Children Of The Revolution – 1972 live. “I drive a Rolls Royce, because it is good for my voice”. They just don’t writ them like this anymore!
Solid Gold Easy Action – Another from ToTP with their classic special effects.
Teenage Dream – The Lost T.O.T.Ps Video from 1972. Slows it down a bit here and shades of Jimi Hendrix methinks.
They had a few more hits and sang many songs. My favourite though apart from Ride a White Swan is this:
I Love To Boogie (live) December 1976
Singalong, enjoy and be happy!
Links to previous Legend articles:
Featured Image: “Marc Bolan” by Effervescing Elephant is licensed under CC BY-SA 2.0
© Phil the ex test manager 2021
